Door-brace.



N. BOHANNON.

DOOR BRACE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18. 191,51.

1 1 54,087 Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

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ZBOMIUZOTQ e9 ttorney.

Cowman FLANDCIRAFH 60.. WASHINGTON, D. c.

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NATHANIEL BOHANNON, OF CHASE CITY, VIRGINIA.

DDOR-BRACE.

Application filed May 18, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, NATHANIEL BOHAN- NON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chase City, in the county of Mecklenburg and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door- Braces, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to braces for doors and it has particular reference to screendoors and the like and to means forming a diagonal brace therefor which is adapted to be attached at its opposite ends to or between the stile and the rail of a door whereby the sagging of said door is prevented; and any sag already in a door to which the rail is attached, may be corrected and the door brought back into its proper condition, so that it may be easily opened and closed.

lVith the above and other ects in view, my invention consists of the improved doorbrace which I will hereinafter describe and claim.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts in the several views; Figure l is a side elevation of a screen door provided with myimproved brace. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the brace detached.

In the said drawing I have illustrated my invention in connection with a screen-door of conventional form, but it is to be understood that the said invention may be applied to any other form of door, or to any equivalent structure where there is a tendency of the door or part to sag, and to thereby be difficult to open or close.

The brace consists of two members, a, a of suitable material; for this purpose I find flat bars of metal well adapted for my use, said bars being, preferably, given a quarter twist midway of their length so that the inner portions of the bars may overlap and be hingedly or flexibly connected by a pin, or rivet or like part, 6. One of the bars may have its edge portion recessed at o, and the other bar may be formed with a lateral flange or lug, (Z, which is adapted to engage the recessed wall or portion of the firstnamed bar to thereby form a stop for limiting the hinged or pivotal movement of the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

Serial No. 28,874.

bars in one direction, but permitting the bars to flex in the opposite direction.

The outer ends of the bars constituting the brace may be provided with suitable means for attachment to the door, say to the inner wall of a stile and the top wall of a cross rail; or, as an alternative and to some extent the preferred construction, the outer ends of the bars may be roughened, serrated, or otherwise provided with a point or points which are adapted to embed themselves in the material of the door and to thereby hold the brace in its proper position.

In operation, the brace is inserted in the angle formed by a stile and cross rail when the brace is in its flexed condition, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. l, and when pressure,

applied by the hand or foot, or by other means, is brought upon the brace, the bars are forced into a straight-line position, and a strong pressure is at thesame time brought upon the stile with the result that the frame of the door is braced against sagging action, and if the door already has a sag, this is immediately corrected. A door thus supplied with a brace such as before described, cannot, therefore, sag or fall out of shape because any tendency to do so is resisted by the brace and the pressure which it is eXerting upon the stile.

My improvement is of a very simple character and can be manufactured at a slight cost. It is detachable and interchangeable and may be applied to any door with but little diiiiculty and it may be attached in any manner to any of the several angles with which the door is supplied, and when applied the door is held perfectly true and cannot sag so that a portion of the same drags in contact with the frame or the door casing or sill.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. A door brace consisting of a pair of flat bars having overlapping inner ends standing on edge and pivotally connected, each of said bars being twisted substantially midway of its length whereby the outer portions of the bar are parallel with the pivot of said bars and are at right angles to the inner portions, the outer extremities of said bars being serrated to positively engage the to the remaining portion of said bar, one of stile and rail of a door. said bars having a lug adapted to engage the 2. A door brace consisting of a pair of top surface of the other member and to serve 10 flat bars having overlapping inner ends pivas a stop .for limiting the movement of the otally connected, and having their intermebars in one direction.

diate portions twisted so that one part of In testimony whereof I aPfix my signature;

each bar stands at substantially right angles NATHANIEL 'BOHANNON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. 0.? 

